House Styles Checklist

Throughout history, people all over the world have constructed buildings suited to their needs. They have balanced and traded off between the purpose or function of the structure, the building materials available, the climate, and the cultural patterns and expectations of the people who will live in, work in, visit, or pass by the building.

As time progressed, new building techniques, materials, and ideas were discovered, invented, and created, resulting in chronological (time) periods when certain building styles were common to a geographic area or culture. Recognizing which structures fit into which architectural period or cultural tradition is a little like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Looking at the visual cues on the box help you sort the pieces of the puzzle; in the same way, structures and buildings present external visual cues about the people, history, and culture even before you step inside.

After familiarizing yourself with the diverse visual cues and rich vocabulary of architecture, you may begin to find "gray areas" as one stylistic period blends into another. You may experience some frustration or confusion when a given house doesn't "fit" into a neat category. Please know that professional architects and historians often disagree, discuss, and debate classifications and the progress of changes. Cultural forces, building techniques, and the search for novelty or return to traditional design creates a spiral path of generally-accepted forms during each era with zig-zags of "retrograde" and "avant garde," "revival" and "experimental" enlivening the historical record.

First Impressions and Face Value:

Once a culture has progressed beyond simple survival and shelter from the elements, there is a language and vocabulary of architecture which is intended to communicate with people when they approach a structure. Look at the front façade of the building. More details about first impressions. . .

Is it symmetrical or asymmetrical?

Simple or ornate?

Take it from the Top!

One of the most basic human needs, shelter, drives architecture. Roof systems from different geographic regions and cultures often have a particular "look" that may help with identification. More details about roofs . . .

While choice of building material throughout history has often been dependent upon the local geography and ecosystem, choices the patron (person paying for the structure to be built) and architect make about the "stuff" used to construct a building influence people's reaction to it. More details about choices . . .